Pubdate: Sun, 15 Apr 2001
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2001 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Keith B. Richburg, Washington Post Foreign Service
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

PRAGMATIC DUTCH TOLERATE ECSTASY USE

Despite U.S. Alarm, Party Drug Is Widely Used In The Netherlands

AMSTERDAM -- At a jam-packed private party at the edge of this city's 
red-light district, the theme one recent night was 1980s retro, the music 
was blaring and much of the crowd was in an Ecstasy-energized frenzy.

"Is this a great party or what?" said a sweaty young American, pushing his 
way to the bar for three glasses of tap water for himself and two friends. 
When people are on the drug that's often called just "e," they feel elated 
and packed with pep. Often they dance so hard that consuming lots of water 
is essential to prevent serious dehydration.

The young American, a newcomer to the Amsterdam scene, knows all about the 
potentially dangerous side effects of "e" -- the next-day comedown, the 
slight depression and the repetitive, involuntary tooth-grinding that often 
leaves e-users with day-after sore gums.

But there are ways to counteract these effects, he says, sounding like a 
veteran user. Chewing gum stops the teeth-gnashing. Eating an orange the 
morning after helps balance out the mood swings.

Drug enforcement officials, lawmakers and health care experts in the United 
States are sounding a new nationwide alarm about Ecstasy, also known as "x" 
or "happy pills," calling it the newest and fastest-growing drug in the 
illegal marketplace. There were congressional hearings last year, new 
federal legislation to stiffen penalties and reports of huge Ecstasy busts 
by the U.S. Customs Service -- 2.1 million tablets were seized in Los 
Angeles last summer.

But here in the Netherlands, where an estimated 80 percent of the world's 
Ecstasy is manufactured, people and government alike treat its use as a 
fact of the cultural landscape. "It's everywhere," said Monique, a 
30-year-old waitress who began using it a decade ago. "I come from a really 
small village, and it was there," she said, asking that her full name not 
be used. "At house parties it's still around, definitely."

For years, Holland has pursued what may be the industrial world's most 
tolerant approach to drug use. Amsterdam is dotted with "smoking shops," 
establishments where people can buy small amounts of marijuana and hashish 
without fear of prosecution. Officials have extended this tolerance to 
Ecstasy, and take what they call a pragmatic view that, whether society 
likes it or not, a certain number of people are going to use the drug, so 
the risks should be minimized.

Here, party-goers can take their Ecstasy pills to a branch of a drug 
treatment center to have them tested and the contents analyzed. The pill is 
then handed back. If the clinic technicians cannot immediately determine 
the content of a pill, they offer to send it to a laboratory for further 
tests. That's not a problem for most users, because they tend to buy their 
pills in batches of five or six.

Upon completion of the test, "we give them a card telling them what they 
can expect if they take this pill," said Harold Wychgel, a Health Ministry 
spokesman.

The pill-testing program serves another purpose, he said; it gives the 
government accurate and up-to-date data on what pills are on the market and 
how prevalent the use is, as well as a profile of the users.

The government has also issued a white paper laying out rules for the 
underground parties, or "raves," where Ecstasy use is prevalent. For 
example, party sites must be well ventilated and there must be plenty of 
free water available, to prevent e-users from becoming dehydrated through 
all-night dancing. There must also be a "chill-out" room, a cool and quiet 
place where "ravers" can sit peacefully to calm down.

Officials also say their strategy of tolerating use should not be 
interpreted by their American counterparts as tolerating trafficking and 
manufacturing. Ecstasy remains illegal in Holland and is classified as a 
hard drug, like heroin and cocaine.

Authorities make war on production sites. In the past year they have 
dismantled 35, said Peter Reijnders, who heads the Synthetic Drugs Unit, a 
multi-agency group created in 1997 that includes customs agents, police, 
tax enforcers and public prosecutors.

"The Netherlands is a main producer of Ecstasy," Reijnders said. "But the 
Netherlands is not the only producing country. We see more and more 
production coming up in other Western countries, Belgium and Greece, and 
also in Eastern Europe. . . . That is why it is important to put emphasis 
on international cooperation."

The typical Ecstasy laboratory is a fairly complex affair, somewhat larger 
than the "kitchenettes" used to manufacture methamphetamine in the United 
States. Two chemical precursors are required, which come from Eastern 
Europe and, in smaller amounts, Southeast Asia, officials said.

As always with illegal drugs, the profits are huge, so organized crime has 
a stake in keeping the trade and manufacturing alive. One tablet can be 
made for about $1 maximum, and usually a bit less. In the house-party scene 
in New York, one tablet can fetch as much as $20.

The small size of Ecstasy tablets also makes them easy to smuggle across 
borders. Sometimes they're disguised; the Dutch police have found them 
being shipped out in vitamin bottles. The pills come in different colors -- 
blue, green, brown, orange -- and sometimes with small emblems stamped on 
them that give them their nicknames. One popular brand, for example, is the 
"blue butterfly," which shows the butterfly stamped on its front.

Invented by German psychiatrists in 1912, and used to combat depression and 
to help couples having trouble in their sexual relationships, the aptly 
named Ecstasy -- known as the "love drug" because it engenders feelings of 
warmth and a heightened sexuality -- was not even illegal until the 1980s, 
when it was discovered that it was being used on the rave party scene, 
which originated in Britain.

There have been a handful of deaths attributed to Ecstasy, mostly in 
Britain and mostly young people who suffered severe dehydration from 
all-night dancing. But for years, "e," which has the chemical name MDMA for 
methylenedioxymethamphetamine, has been seen here as a relatively benign 
drug, not addictive and with relatively minor side effects.

The drug works by stimulating the brain to produce serotonin, a 
neurotransmitter that affects feelings of happiness. There may also be 
mild, pleasant hallucinations and an increase in energy.

New scientific research now suggests that over time, and with heavy use, 
the "love drug" may not be so benign. The brain can produce only a finite 
amount of serotonin over a lifetime, so heavy "e" use -- several pills 
every weekend for years -- may cause the serotonin to be used up, perhaps 
making depression more likely later in life. The National Institute on Drug 
Abuse also has reported that Ecstasy use increases heart rate and blood 
pressure and may lead to liver damage. And heavy use may cause problems 
with memory.

Still, many people here, whether they're health and legal experts or casual 
weekend users, consider the official American reaction alarmist. "I think . 
. . the Americans are overreacting," said Tim Boekhout van Solinge, a 
researcher and lecturer in criminology who has studied Ecstasy use extensively.

"I've gone to raves with researchers and I've spoken to dozens of 
rave-goers," he said. "One thing I've found is that rave-goers are so 
responsible."

"This is a trend," he said. "It's not going to stay. It's so much linked to 
a specific youth culture, the rave scene. And no one thinks the rave scene 
is going to last 20 years."

Boekhout van Solinge and other experts also dispute American suggestions 
that tolerance of soft drugs such as marijuana leads young people to try 
harder drugs later on.

There is one worrying trend, officials here say: As more reports come in of 
the potential dangers of Ecstasy, some party-goers may be switching back to 
another old favorite drug, cocaine.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D